The Movement Space

I talk very frankly about how Quincy's accident affected my life. I am no longer the same person. I literally feel like my brain and my body split for a long time and through the help of amazing people I was able to find my way back to a new me with a brain and body that could coexist. I talk about the accident, which is pretty graphic, so if you can't listen to that part, fast forward about half way and then you can hear about the recovery aspect from a mental state. Around 44 minutes I get into how this has truly impacted my relationship with myself and my family and my entire life. 

Song: Holly Humberstone - Falling Asleep at the Wheel 

Emily Hightower

We had a fantastic time talking to Samantha Ciaccia on all things KB’s, life altering moments, her brave decision to create her own KB certification, the lens she uses to break movements down, and so much more.

Sam is an emergency medicine physician assistant gone rogue. She talks about how she had to be able to break down challenging complex disorders to patients and how she was able to take that skill and use it to become an expert in KB teaching. She truly believes that small changes and details. make a huge difference. She talks about how the principles she uses carryover into all realms of movement. She said, “I stopped my career in emergency medicine to focus on this because I find that what I have to offer is more valuable than what I was doing as a PA, and that’s just the honest truth.”

We discuss her choice to create her own certification and the mental fortitude that is required to do that. She talks about how she has always dreamt big. Her passion in helping others is the backbone of her course and certification. She recognized that trainers need more than a certification which is why she has incorporate so much information on not just skill development but being able to coach effectively and think critically. She sees her certification as complimentary to the current certifications.

We dive into ballistics and the importance of power work and how KB’s are a great tool that is easily accessible for so many people. From a clinician standpoint she says, “power is probably the number one thing as we get older that we should continue to train.” We discuss the bell and how it is a good assessment tool. 

She shares how she would process through her steps to getting a client to a point where they can master a ballistic move. She shares an example of a swing in particular. What we learned is that throwing a bell into someones hands and having them to start swinging is about 6 steps ahead. 

She also discusses the limitations of KB’s in regards to weight and size limitations. She truly takes a principle based approach. 

We dive into her personal journey now and her trip around the world to build relationships that help her build her certification and name. We joke about the differences in travel 20 years ago vs. today and how great it is that she is leveraging her business while traveling and how she manages to stay focused. This will make you laugh for sure!

Her next course starts September 6th and you can expect her first certification in April of 2023. Kettlebell Foundations Course

Sam's Instagram

You can catch the episode on YouTube.

Dr. Mike Demille is a Physical Therapist and the owner of Divergence Physical Therapy and Wellness, in Wellesley, Massachusetts. He is certified through the Postural Restoration Institute. He uses their principles to guide his work where he spans the spectrum of rehab and performance, working with athletes and general population. In this episode we talked about chronic pain and nocioception, and how we can better communicate with patients in pain. He discusses how important it is to get clients back to strength and conditioning where they don't have to worry about their biomechanics in a conscious way. He also discusses using a mechanical approach vs. a pain neuroscience education approach and how he blends those two worlds. Mike is exceptionally articulate and has a way of explaining nuance in a way that makes so much sense. If you struggle to express to your clients and patients why this work is important and how to reframe their experience of pain, then you definitely want to listen to how Mike communicates! He discusses how he creates categories that are more specific to avoid putting people into too broad of a context that doesn't lead to the best outcomes. The specificity is critical to his practice and success. "It's borderline unethical to put a patient in the scenario of relying on all of our cues as a practitioner", is one of the many amazing sentences he said in the podcast. He also gives his thoughts on the climate of instagram and social media and how different the approach is to how we treat one another in person vs. online. Jill immediately says, "wow, thats an unbelievable metaphor for life, and I offer to let Mike and his wife, Erin adopt me 😂". There are so many ah ha and holy moly moments in this podcast, you do not want to miss a single word! Please enjoy and share. You can watch it live on YouTube. You can find out more about Mike on his Instagram and on his website. His program for clinicians and trainers is called Solidify. Listen to it on: Spotify Apple Podcast Follow us on Instagram or Facebook

Catherine (Cat) Cowey is a Personal Trainer with 25 years of experience in an Athletic Training and Physical Therapy background.

Cat is one of the most thirsty for knowledge people we’ve ever met. In a world with very little research on hypermobility and hypermobility spectrum disorders, Cat has taken it upon herself to bridge theoretical gaps between the small samples of research, practical successes, and her own personal experiences living as a woman with hypermobility.

In this episode Cat explains what Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder is and how it is so much more than “double jointedness”.

She connects the dots and explains why hypermobility can also present with symptoms of pain, anxiety, GI discomfort, poor sleep quality, fatigue, and unique adaptive behaviors specific such as crossing legs and sitting with knees pulled up.

We talk about the first time many people realize they are hyper mobile is when they are young and show off their “party tricks” to the amazement of their peers. Throughout the aging process, the body stiffens and many will lose their party tricks but the multi-system symptoms associated with hypermobility remain.

We discuss training strategies that would support a hyper mobiles body, why isometrics are so much harder, and why programing needs to be tailored accordingly to reduce adrenal fatigue.

This episode brings to light a dark area of health that not many people know about and is often dismissed as a ‘mystery diagnosis’. I guarantee you will either connect with this discussion personally or know someone in your life who will.

Please enjoy and share.

You can watch it live on YouTube.

Andrew Hannon (aka: Ando) is a trainer living in Scottsdale, Arizona that has a niche working with golfers. He took a big chance and moved from the midwest where he worked for country clubs out to Arizona where he took a chance and applied for a job with Premier Fitness Systems, which is one of the tops golf fitness in the United States.

Andrew talks about his training style and how he loves to be creative and see’s his passion as an art that allows him to integrate his love of sports with exercise creation. This is obvious if you check out his instagram. There are so many great ideas. He has learned many different systems but has his own unique way of bringing context to what is really important based on what people need.

He talks about how he grew up and how he knew he needed to push himself to do more. He also talks about how he is a bit more introverted and how social media is a great outlet that allows him to post about exercises and drills as a way to communicate to others. He’s got a sarcastic and funny side that he subtly let’s out online and they make us laugh every time!

We touched on how he will highlight his female golfers and why he appreciates them and their attention to detail. He also touches on the emotional side of things and being able to allow the session to just flow so that the client is truly enjoying the hour in their day. 

He discusses his affiliation with Adidas and what a great experience that was. 

He also opens up about his new life as a dad and how important it is he plays an integral role, and how one of his clients now helps care for his daughter. In the future he is looking forward to growing by putting himself out there both professionally and personally and finding a balance between Dad and work. 

If you want to hear a genuine down to earth trainer that has built a successful career and put in the hard work, then you don’t want to miss this episode. 

You can watch it live on YouTube.

Dr. Perry Nickelston is a Chiropractor by training who does a little bit of everything and he says, “there is about 100% chance you will be 0% correct on trying to put me in a box.”

He talks about the early “show me the evidence” Perry and the lessons he learned from having a nervous breakdown and how that changed him. He became more aware of his body and realized how our physiology links to the meaning that you give something.

When it comes to pain, Perry believes that we all have the power to change the meaning and context of our pain to improve our lives and he talks about how he helps people do this. Awareness is the first step and it’s not about getting from point A to point B, it’s about getting off point A.

He talks about how your brain takes in information and it’s meaningless until you give it context. This is based on your prior story because of adaptation and the brain’s natural tendency to conserve energy. It’s the story you tell yourself about the input, or worse, the story someone else told you that you believe that you have to get out of. Uncertainty, not knowing, lack of control, and conflicting information, are a recipe for disaster and stress and inflammation.

Awareness is knowing you have a choice and this is what Perry encourages everyone to have.

Perry said, “pain is a form of certainty, because what can you depend on?” This one blew our mind! The body only does things that are useful and you just need to figure out why this is a bad strategy. Most people can’t go near the emotional trauma and the nervous system keeps it hidden so the body finds a way to repress it but the energy has to go somewhere and pain can be outlet for this. You can’t separate the mind and body.

He talks about his own journey with shame and how he overcame that shame and now uses that experience to be more empathetic with his patients.

Another brilliant quote from the episode, “the brain loves uncertainty if there is a background of safety built in.” Perry explains the what and why behind this and why PLAY is so important.

He talks about his treatment approach and how he treats at the site of pain for the patient, but is always looking for the areas that you have no clue about, because he says you can’t change something until you become aware of it. He gives his patients hope to helm empower them to create change.

This episode is full of ah-ha moments that will help empower yourself and your clients to Stop Chasing Pain and start developing awareness.

You can find out more about Perry's products and courses on his website. 

You can get loads of educational content on his Instagram.

David Grey is one of our favorite people in the movement space, no pun intended :). We have learned so much from him and also just think he is a stand up human. He finds a positive spin on rehab and helps his clients to see their personal rehab process as a privilege not as a drawback. He describes his simplistic approach as "trying to teach them something so they can move onto the next thing". If they move too fast or if the training is not benefiting they will have undesirable adaptations to training, which David describes as negative transfer of training. He does a great job of explaining this concept. 

He also talks about deinhibiting the nervous system and how important this is to being able to perform well. 

We discuss him getting put into the breathing box, when really he just sees that as one beneficial aspect and loves everything about the rehab process. 

We talk a bit about his thoughts on increasing or decreasing speed as being a game changer in rehabilitation to performance. 

We rant a bit about the negative talk around understanding complex biomechanics and the current trend of suggesting this is not important. 

Finally, and very profoundly, he describes calcaneal motion and how important it is to make sure you don't just find a position but you can coach "the journey". Very few people can do this well. David believes this is relative to our physical, mental, and emotional health. 

You can find out more about David's products on his website. 

You can get loads of educational content on his Instagram.

We had the immense pleasure of reminiscing and catching up with our friend, Dr. Sarah Duvall, for our first episode after a brief hiatus.

Sarah has built her business from the ground up with a focus on integrity and making sure that her paying customers are her first priority. She uses foundational principles to guide her decision making and is not afraid to jump ship if something in her life, business, or therapy is just not working. Knowing when to let things go is a key part of her success.

We talked about how we each met Sarah and how she basically was the precursor to our friendship, as well as her thoughts on business, motherhood, drive, and friendship.

We dive into the main tenants that everyone woman should know in regards to female health and how this also applies to men, and every population. 

She has a fantastic new course she is working on that brings her back to her first obsession with the human form, the pelvis. We are so excited for this course and to see Sarah reach a broader audience that can use her knowledge to up their game. 

If you want to hear 3 business owning, wakeboarding, female friends talk about all the things, this is the podcast for you!

"If you can't find B through A, you really can't think laterally at all." - Sarah

You can find more about Sarah on her

Website https://www.coreexercisesolutions.com/

Check out the courses we talked about in the episode.

Pelvic Floor Perfect

Diastasis Fix

PCES for Professionals

Her Instagram is https://www.instagram.com/drsarahduvall/

We hope you enjoy the show!

Best, Katie and Jill

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We love talking about so much MOAR than just your typical marketing strategies. Shante Cofield is absolutely amazing and made a huge pivot in her life so she could live her best life and teach others how to do the same. PT turned online / social media / life inspiration / hilarious super REAL human. 

We talked to her about how we just give stuff away for free everyday and are tell people here it is and then Shante explains why you just need to package it up nicely and keep giving away free stuff.

She is anti "burn the ships". What's that? She explains how you need some sort of safety net. She also tells us about letting things go until they suck so bad that you have to change. Jill can totally relate. 

At some point you have to stop collecting more information and create an action plan. This requires a step by step approach. One thing at a time. Working with someone to help you focus. 

This episode will get you inspired to do MOAR, be MOAR, and put MOAR into your life and your business!

Mike is one of our favorite Postural Restoration Institute instructors of all time. He is no longer teaching for PRI (so sad 😔) but he has started his own business to expound on concepts that advance the theory of PRI and create “nerd-gasms” (this is Mike’s words, not ours, yet another reason we love him!) Applied Integration Consulting is his business which makes “complex concepts simple stupid”. 

He broke down how he teaches to the front, middle and back row and how the faster you get to the "ah-ha" moments the quicker you get the hook to set in so you get students excited about learning.

Katie tries to explain his adduction lift “cheat” test paper back to him. Mike breaks this down and explains why it might be more common to cheat the adduction lift test by using their psoas instead of their pelvic floor to get that left side up. If you have taken any PRI courses you will want to make sure you understand all of this!!

Mike talks about his Fellowship program with James Anderson in his “radio voice” and explains a bit more about who it’s for and why it is useful.

He also talks about a secret venture set for October of 2022, Columbus Day weekend. He kept it top secret and we are keeping it on our radar for sure!

We discussed “Doogie Howser” who we were in classes with and blown away by. He was a patient of Mikes and went on to take PRI classes while going to med school and treating his own issues.

Jill brings up the “rabbit hole of PRI” and how some patients end up feeling hopeless and just need to be seen. Mike talks about “possible” versus “probable” and the context in which we use those words.

Mike talks about the article “The soccer players tug of war” and how he addresses the right glute max and avoiding adductor irritation. The glute max is a frontal plane muscle and it provides the ability to shift the center of mass side to side.

Mike shows us some before and after visual changes to forward head posture and talks about the need for the client to buy in on exercises to not create compensation on top of compensation. 

Mike screen shares a very amazing case regarding dental changes without braces. It is truly amazing and you don’t want to miss it!

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